Neon Genesis Evangelion – Matters of Trust
by Knife Hand
Summary: AU, basically a series rewrite. Shinji must keep a promise he made years ago. SR pairing. How NGE should be. (Rewritten for sequencing and paceing reasons. now 3 chapters. :) )
1. Promises to Keep

Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion - Matters of Trust  
  
Chapter: Promises to Keep  
  
Author: Knife Hand  
  
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated  
  
Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.  
  
Summary: AU, basically a series rewrite. Shinji must keep a promise he made years ago. S/R pairing. How NGE should be.  
  
AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.  
  
AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone nor is she related to Shinji in any way shape or form.  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thought  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shinji stood staring down at the new tombstone in front of him that bore the name Yui Ikari.  
  
"She's not in there." Shinji said in the slightly slurred voice of a three year old.  
  
He looked over at his friend since forever, Rei Ayanami. Her eyes were filled with sorrow for her bestest friend, and a pain echoed in her three year old eyes, pain that Shinji had seen in the mirror that morning. Pain that no one should ever have to suffer. Rei held her best friend, remembering three months previously when he had held her, while she cried over her own parents' graves, taken from her by a car crash.  
  
"Let me protect you too." Rei whispered to her now sobbing friend.  
  
At her parents funeral Shinji had made a promise to always protect her, and she wanted to be there for him as well.  
  
"When we grow up, I want to marry you." Rei said honestly, as only a child can.  
  
She then went on to describe all the plans that her three year old mind had for them, which mostly consisted of a lot of holding hands. Finally, about ten minutes latter, Shinji's father came to take Shinji home.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow." Shinji promised.  
  
The next day Rei waited, but Shinji never showed up. Little did she know that Gendo Ikari had sent his son away, to live with his Uncle, without giving Shinji any choice in the matter.  
  
********  
  
~2015 (11 years later) ~  
  
Shinji Ikari stepped off the train at Tokyo 2, one step closer to home. As he walked through the busy streets towards the meeting place, to meet an attractive woman who had sent him a provocative picture, Shinji thought on the events that lead to his return from forced exile.  
  
From the day he had been sent to his Uncle's house, Shinji had been working towards his return, working at odd jobs in the area, anything that would make him money, saving his allowance and never going out. Over the eleven years he had made almost enough money to return to Tokyo 3, and then a letter had arrived from his father, the man who had forced him into exile, requesting that he return. Naturally Shinji had jumped at the chance, but he wondered what his father wanted of him. Along the busy street of the meeting area a blue sports car pulled up beside Shinji with the woman from the photo inside.  
  
"Hello Shinji Ikari. Nice to finally meet you." the woman said.  
  
"Nice to meet you too, Miss Katsuragi." Shinji replied.  
  
"Misato's fine. Well, let's get going."  
  
Shinji got into the car and it sped off onto the highway to Tokyo 3. There was silence in the car for quite some time, before Shinji spoke.  
  
"What will happen when we get to Tokyo 3?" Shinji asked.  
  
"I think that you father wants to see you." Misato replied.  
  
"Oh. Do we have to do that first?" Shinji said sadly.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I would like to find an old friend first."  
  
"Who?" Misato asked, intrigued because she did not know he had been to Tokyo 3 before.  
  
"Rei Ayanami. I knew her a long time ago." Shinji said, looking out of the window and thus missing Misato's smile.  
  
"Sorry. We have to go strait to headquarters." Misato replied.  
  
Misato picked up her mobile phone and dialled a number.  
  
"Yah, its Katsuragi. We need a car train. Yes, and I want the First Child to meet us when we get there. Thanks, bye."  
  
Misato hung up the phone with a slight grin on her face. The rest of the trip was conducted in silence.  
  
********  
  
"REI!!" Shinji shouted when he saw the familiar pale Blue haired and Red eyed girl.  
  
She had changed slightly from the three year old that he had known, but it was unmistakeably her. She had grown into pretty young woman. When she looked at him she was slightly confused at a seeming stranger yelling her name in NERV headquarters.  
  
"Rei, it's me. Shinji." Shinji said when he saw her reaction.  
  
He was caught off guard by her full handed slap.  
  
"Why did you leave me, Shinji?" she asked in a cold voice.  
  
"I did not want to. It was my father." Shinji replied.  
  
"The Commander?" Rei whispered, her shock not evident on her face or in her voice.  
  
There was a moment of silence before Rei turned.  
  
"He wishes to see you. This way." She said over her shoulder as she began walking and thinking on this new information.  
  
********  
  
Shinji stood in his father's massive office in a slight state of shock. His father had called him because he wanted Shinji to pilot a giant biomechanoid in battles against an enemy that he had never even heard of and, more shocking to him, that Rei already was a pilot and would be in the frontlines of the war.  
  
"Well. Will you pilot or won't you?" Gendo Ikari asked.  
  
"This is too much. I need time to think." Shinji said.  
  
"You have twenty-four hours. Fuyutsuki, take care of the rest." Gendo ordered.  
  
Fuyutsuki escorted Shinji out of Gendo's office and down to receive a temporary NERV ID.  
  
"Where is Rei?" Shinji asked when he had is ID.  
  
"She's about to have an activation test." the second in command of NERV replied.  
  
"Can I watch?"  
  
********  
  
Unit 00 stood in the test cage, as the activation test began. Rei smiled slightly when she saw Shinji's face in one of the observation windows. The activation test proceeded normally until the Eva reached the absolute borderline and then it went out of control. In the control room Shinji looked on in horror, not understanding any of the commands being given around him, just knowing Rei was in trouble.  
  
When he saw the white tube, that he had been told contained Rei, fly out of the back of the Eva he began to run. When he reached to floor of the test cage the Eva had stoped and the entry plug was half resting on a mound of a red substance. When he grabbed the handles of the emergency hatch, Shinji burned his hands but, grunting with determination, he continued to open the hatch. When he got the hatch open he was relieved to see Rei alive and conscious.  
  
"I still want to protect you." Shinji told the injured girl.  
  
"Thank you." Rei responded.  
  
The emergency medical team arrived and took Rei off on a stretcher.  
  
"For you, Rei. Only for you." Shinji whispered after her.  
  
Turning around, Shinji saw his father looking at him.  
  
"I'll do it. But not for you." Shinji replied before walking off.  
  
********  
  
The next two weeks were busy for Shinji. Whenever he was not in Unit 01's entry plug, he was sitting by Rei's bed in the hospital, re-establishing a relationship and friendship with his best friend, which had been destroyed by his father. Both of them had been scared by Gendo's actions. Rei had become emotionally closed off and reluctant to interact with others as she had been lead to believe that the one person she had trusted above all others had betrayed her, while Shinji had been abandoned by his father and grown up in a household where he had been treated as useless.  
  
When Rei finally got out of the hospital and Shinji had finished his intense training in his Eva, Rei being discharged about an hour after Shinji finished his training, it was decided that Shinji needed accommodation (having slept in a chair beside Rei's bed the entire two weeks she was in hospital). Shinji arranged for an apartment near Rei's and, seemingly by chance, ended up getting the apartment right next to hers. When he saw his apartment he was shocked at how dirty it was and went over to Rei's to see if he could borrow some cleaning products. He found that Rei's apartment was filthier that his own and was appalled. After spending some money on cleaning products, Shinji spend the next two days cleaning up both apartments, starting with Rei's because she was still injured.  
  
"What are you doing Shinji?" Rei asked quietly when he stated to clean her apartment.  
  
"I'm cleaning, Rei. How can you live like this?"  
  
"It is all I have had since you left." Rei replied with a hint of sadness in her voice.  
  
"Oh, Rei." Shinji said giving Rei a hug, which became slightly uncomfortable when Shinji felt Rei's maturing body pressed against his.  
  
"All I ever thought about was getting back to protect you." he said when he released her from the hug.  
  
Rei nodded slightly then sat down to watch as Shinji cleaned her apartment. There was a comfortable silence in Rei's apartment as Shinji worked and Rei watched, the friendship that had existed years ago had returned, slightly differently as they were different people now, and it allowed them to spend a lot of time together without awkwardness. Shinji finished cleaning the apartments on Saturday, so on Sunday Shinji and Rei went out so that Shinji could reacquaint himself with the city. In fact they spent little time in the city, most of the day was spent wandering the hills around Tokyo 3 and reminiscing over their lives before Shinji was sent away.  
  
Shinji remembered the little girl who came running to him when she had scraped her knee, while Rei remember the little boy who had given her he favourite birthday present, a small stuffed pig, which had later been confiscated by Commander Ikari. They both remembered the friend that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with, and while strained, that friend was still there, only buried by time and Gendo Ikari. Finally they watched the sunset from a cliff that overlooked the city before they went back to their apartments, because they had school in the morning.  
  
********  
  
Shinji awoke in the morning and stared at an unfamiliar ceiling, and was confused for a moment, and then he remembered that he was back and Rei was in the next apartment. Shinji got up and quickly got ready for school and went outside to meet Rei. They walked to school, without seeing any other students, and arrived early so that Shinji could formally enrol, it turned out that he was in the same class as Rei, and the whole class apparently knew that there would be a new student and that Rei would be back at school today.  
  
Shinji's enrolment had taken longer that they thought it would so when they reached the classroom the rest of the class was already there. The class was shocked into silence when the door opened revealing Rei, one arm in a cast and one eye covered with a bandage, and a strange boy, obviously the new student. Every eye in the class tracked them as they moved across the room, the boy whispered into Rei's ear at one point and she nodded, towards the window side of the room. Rei sat in her usual chair and the boy sat in the chair next to her. For once Rei did not immediately start looking out the window, instead she and the boy chatted quietly until class began.  
  
The shock in the room was palatable, no one in the class had ever seen Rei talk to anyone unless they asked her a direct question and it seemed as if she never wanted or needed a friend. When the teacher arrived, Shinji introduced himself.  
  
"Hi everyone. My name is Shinji Ikari. I just moved her from my Uncle's home in Atsugi. Actually I used to live around here, many years ago." Shinji said before sitting down again.  
  
No one except Rei recognised the pain in his eyes when he said the last part. After Shinji's introduction the teacher began his regular drone on his experiences during the Second Impact.  
  
"Hey, Touji. How do you think Rei knows the new kid?" asked Kensuke Aida.  
  
Kensuke, a short, bespectacled boy who loves computers and pretending he is in the military while his friend Touji Suzuhara was a tall boy who was in the best sports teams at the school, and always wore his Basketball team tracksuit to class.  
  
"I don't know, Kensuke. Maybe he knew her when he was younger." Touji responded.  
  
The pair got a glare from Hikari, the class representative and promptly shut up, knowing that beneath the perky exterior was that metal that resided at the core of all Tokyo 3 residents. Those without that metal left quickly.  
  
********  
  
The rest of the morning went smoothly and at lunch Shinji and Rei were having lunch out under one of the trees in the schoolyard when three of their classmates came to speak to them.  
  
"Hi. My name's Hikari Horaki. As class representative, I would like to welcome you on behalf of the class." The girl said.  
  
"Um, Hi." Shinji said nervously.  
  
He had not been well liked at his previous school, as he had dedicated all his time in trying to get back to Rei. As a result he had been the target of several bullies and thus was reluctant to form new friendships. Touji and Kensuke hung back slightly trying to get a better look at the new kid.  
  
"These two morons are Touji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida. For some reason they seem to be following me today." Hikari said lightly, but with a hint of warning.  
  
"Well, we saw you coming over here and thought we would say hello to the new kid... I mean Shinji." Touji said.  
  
"Yah sure." Hikari responded.  
  
"Don't mind them." Kensuke said as Touji and Hikari started arguing. "Names Kensuke. So you said you used to live here?"  
  
"Yah. My father sent me to my uncle when I was three. Are those two alright?" Shinji said, pointing to Touji and Hikari.  
  
By now Hikari had Touji by the ear and he seemed to be apologising for something.  
  
"Oh, that. They're fine. It happens every couple of days. Touji puts his foot in his mouth and Hikari chews him out for it." Kensuke said.  
  
"How can someone fit their foot into their mouth?" Rei asked.  
  
Shinji and Kensuke started laughing.  
  
"It means he said the wrong thing, Rei." Shinji said, trying to control his laughter.  
  
"I see." Rei said reservedly.  
  
********  
  
By the end of the week, Shinji had formed a friendship with Touji and Kensuke, having need of male friends, while Rei had formed a tentative friendship with Hikari. Encouraged by Shinji's return and the fact that Hikari actually seemed to want to spend time with her, Rei had begun to be more sociable, answering most of Hikari's questions, and even asking a few reserved questions of her own. Hikari found it encouraging that the reclusive girl began to open up to her and Rei liked the fact that she had a girl that she could talk to, even if she was to reserved to actually talk to her most of the time. Rei was confused by some of the interactions between Shinji and the other boys. While Hikari and herself mostly talked when together, Shinji and his friends seemed to act unintelligently when together. Once when Hikari and Rei were talking, the three boys had gotten into a fight with some other boys.  
  
"Look, Rei. Here's my number." Hikari said near the end of lunch on Friday, scribbling her phone number on a piece of paper. "Call me sometime and we'll go shopping."  
  
"Shopping?" Rei asked, slightly confused.  
  
"Don't tell me you've never been clothes shopping." Hikari said, shocked.  
  
Rei shyly shook her head.  
  
"Oh. This is a fashion emergency. Rei, I'm taking you shopping tomorrow. Unless you were planing to do something. Shinji?" Hikari said.  
  
"Go for it. I think she only owns School Uniforms." Shinji said. 'And plug suits'  
  
"Cool. And we'll take Shinji to the arcade." Kensuke said with a large grin.  
  
Hikari, Touji and Kensuke left the old friends together and started to move off to class, even though there were a few minutes of lunch left.  
  
"Why did you say that?" Rei asked, nervous about the shopping trip.  
  
"A few reasons. Firstly, you need to go out socially other than at school, and Hikari will be happy shopping. Secondly, you need some clothes other than school uniforms and plug suits. And thirdly, I would not mind seeing what you too buy." Shinji said with a grin. "Plus I now get to go to the arcade."  
  
"Ok." Rei replied.  
  
Shinji and Rei stood up and headed back to class.  
  
TBC 


	2. Repatriation

Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion - Matters of Trust  
  
Chapter: Repatriation  
  
Author: Knife Hand  
  
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated  
  
Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.  
  
Summary: AU, basically a series rewrite. Shinji must keep a promise he made years ago. S/R pairing. How NGE should be.  
  
AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.  
  
AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thought  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shinji and Rei were walking down the street to the mall, for Rei's shopping trip and for Shinji's trip to the arcade. Shinji was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans while Rei was in her school uniform. Just before they reached the mall Shinji stoped and handed Rei several thousand Yen. Rei looked at him in confusion.  
  
"This was part of the money I raised to get back here. I want you to have it, buy yourself something nice, Rei." he said slightly embarrassed.  
  
Shocked, Rei took the money. They continued to the mall, meeting Hikari, Touji and Kensuke outside the arcade.  
  
"Rei, if you need me, or are ready to go, I'll be in there. Ok?" Shinji said. Rei just nodded, before moving off with Hikari, and watching the boys move into the arcade.  
  
"This is going to be so much fun." Hikari said. "So? How much can we spend on you?"  
  
"Well, I have about one hundred and twenty Yen." Rei said, and Hikari nodded sadly, understanding being broke. "But Shinji just gave me this." Rei held out the money to Hikari, who goggled.  
  
"That is about eight thousand Yen." Hikari said. "We can get you a very decent wardrobe for that."  
  
"But I have a place to hang clothes." Rei replied.  
  
"No, Rei. A wardrobe is also used to describe the range of clothes in your closet." Hikari explained.  
  
Rei just nodded her head as they walked off to shop.  
  
********  
  
Hikari and Rei sat down at a small café to have something to eat. They had only been shopping for about two hours but they need a break for sustenance. Hikari ordered a sandwich and a coke, while Rei ordered a salad and orange juice.  
  
"Having a good time?" Hikari asked with a huge smile on her face.  
  
"Yes, this has been pleasant." Rei said, slowly eating her salad.  
  
They were carrying about half a dozen bags each, which now rested on the other chairs at the table.  
  
"I agree. Sure window shopping is fun, but it's more fun when you buy stuff." Hikari said.  
  
"Window shopping? I assume you don't mean shopping for glass." Rei said in confusion.  
  
"No, window shopping is where you go looking for clothes but don't buy any, mostly because you can't afford them." Hikari explained.  
  
"Ah. As we would most likely be today without Shinji's generosity." Rei said.  
  
"Yah." Hikari said, cautiously. "Speaking of Shinji, how do you two know each other? No, you don't have to answer that. That was rude."  
  
"We knew each other as children. When we were three, his father sent him away and lied to me about it. Until he returned I thought that he had abandoned me." Rei said sadly.  
  
"Oh, Rei. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to pry." Hikari said, concerned for her new friend.  
  
"Perhaps we should return to our task of spending Shinji's money?" Rei said with a slight smile.  
  
"Spoken like a true woman." Hikari said with a laugh, as they collected their bags and began shopping again.  
  
********  
  
Shinji was sitting outside the arcade waiting for Rei, who had been shopping for over five hours. Touji was sitting next to him, officially keeping him company but really waiting for Hikari, while Kensuke had gone home over an hour ago. Shinji finally spotted Rei and Hikari coming towards them, carrying about twenty bags each and both with smiles on their faces. Rei had changed out of her school uniform and into a pair of hip hugging jeans and a simple white blouse, to Shinji she looked gorgeous.  
  
"That was so much fun. Shame I didn't get anything." Hikari said.  
  
"If you want, you can borrow anything we bought." Rei replied.  
  
"Thanks, but I think I'm ok." Hikari replied, giggling. "We should do this again sometime and thank you Shinji."  
  
Shinji just nodded before Hikari and Touji walked off together.  
  
"How was your day?" Shinji asked as he took most of the bags from Rei and where Hikari left them.  
  
"Enjoyable. And thank you for the money." Rei replied.  
  
"No problem. But you are going to have to give me a fashion show latter." Shinji said, continuing when he saw he confused expression. "Put the clothes on and show me how they look."  
  
Rei simply nodded and they continued walking. They arrived back at their building about twenty minutes latter and went to Shinji's apartment, as it had a small spare room in which Rei could get changed without Shinji seeing her. Shinji put down the bags in the spare room then went into the kitchen to make tea, and leave Rei alone to change. Shinji heard the door to the spare room open and turned to see Rei's outfit, then immediately turned back with a red face.  
  
"Rei? What are you doing?" Shinji asked, very embarrassed.  
  
"You said you wanted to see me waring what I had bought." Rei said, straightforwardly.  
  
"Um. Yes I did. But I did not mean underwear." Shinji said, coughing slightly after the last word. "I meant dresses and blouses and jeans and such."  
  
"Oh." Rei said before returning to the spare room.  
  
After that initial incident of embarrassment, the afternoon went smoothly. Rei had acquired a nice range of outfits, from house clothes and casual wear to a nice formal gown, and everything in between. At one stage Rei tried to return the eight hundred Yen change to Shinji, who refused saying that it was a gift to her. Money was not an issue for Shinji, he had saved almost thirty thousand Yen during the eleven years he was away, that was in a secure bank account that gave good interest, and he now received the same living allowance as Rei, which was not much.  
  
When she finished the fashion show, Rei had a shower in the bathroom, located next the spare room, and got changed back into the jeans and white blouse that she had worn back from the mall while Shinji cooked in the kitchen, having procured some decent appliances when he got the apartment. They sat in the dining room having a pleasant conversation during dinner, which contained vegetarian dishes only, mostly discussing their day and Rei's new wardrobe.  
  
"I have an idea for what we can do tomorrow. How does a picnic sound?" Shinji asked.  
  
"Sounds pleasant." Rei replied.  
  
"Good. I know the perfect spot. Wear something comfortable, it's a bit of a hike." Shinji said  
  
********  
  
Shinji and Rei reached the picnic area by midmorning. The picnic area was a small valley in the hills that surrounded Tokyo 3. The valley had a small stream running through it, with a small pool at the base of the waterfall where the stream dropped down from the hills. Most of the valley was covered with grass and wildflowers, with a rocky outcropping surrounding the pool at the far end.  
  
The view of the vaulting mountains to one side was spectacular, which lead the eyes up to the cloudless blue sky, a shade darker in colour than Rei's hair, while the hills on the other side hid the metropolis of Tokyo 3. Shinji, dressed in jeans and a light blue t-shirt, placed a tablecloth on the ground, for them to sit and eat off, and then began unpacking the food from his backpack.  
  
Rei, dressed in comfortable jeans, a light blouse held up by straps over her shoulders and a short sleeved, half length, denim jacket, sat down on the tablecloth and watched the scenery; which, in her mind, included Shinji. The pair had a relaxing lunch, laughing and talking about subjects that had nothing to do with school, Evangelions or cold hearted bastards who derived pleasure from ruining the lives of children. (AN: Guess who the last part was referring to. :) )  
  
"That was delicious. Now I know you can't swim with that cast, and I don't know how to, but there is a submerged ledge in the pool." Shinji said after lunch, pointing in the general direction of the waterfall. "Now I was thinking that we could go and relax in the water."  
  
"I don't have anything to wear." Rei said bluntly.  
  
"Taken care of." Shinji said, reaching into his bag and pulling out Rei's swimsuit and handing it to her before searching through the bag again. "Why don't we go and get changer behind those rocks. (Shinji starts to turn then quickly turns back) or you could get changed here and embarrass me horribly."  
  
Rei continued changing but looked at Shinji's back with curiosity.  
  
"Why are you embarrassed?" she asked, innocently.  
  
"Rei. Remember what we discusses when you were showing me the clothes you bought? Well a similar rule applies to getting changed in front of people, particularly the opposite sex. While I'm flattered that you are this comfortable in front of me, you should not do that kind of thing except around a long-term boyfriend. Um. are you changed yet?" Shinji rambled.  
  
"Yes." Rei replied, allowing Shinji to turn around. "You are a boy, and a friend. I have known you a long time, would that not make you a long-term boyfriend?"  
  
"Um. No, not really. Rei, a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship is more than a friendship. You see, dating, which is what you do with you boyfriend, in your case, or girlfriend, in mine, is supposed to be romantic, kind of like a practice for marriage. It is more complex than that, but that is the basics of it. Do you understand?" Shinji tried to explain.  
  
"I believe so." Rei responded.  
  
"Let's go into the water." Shinji said.  
  
After Shinji changed into his swimming trunks behind some large rocks, he and Rei relaxed on the submerged ledge. The pool was notable, once discovered, as it was feed by two sources, the waterfall and a hidden hot spring concealed by the waterfall. The scolding water of the spring mixed with the frigid water of the waterfall that originated in the perpetually half-frozen mountain peaks above to form a warm pool perfect for bathing. The life-long friends sat quietly on the ledge, made timeless by the consistency of the water's noise and the absence of other sounds. It could have been thirty seconds or three hours before the silence was broken by a question.  
  
"Shinji? Why did you buy me all those clothes?" Rei asked.  
  
Sadness, Joy, Grief, Loss, Contentment, Loneliness, Pride, and Love, all these emotions flashed across Shinji's face in seconds.  
  
"Rei, I want you to listen, to really understand what I'm about to say. After we were separated, I focused all my efforts on getting back to you. All that money, and more, was for the trip back to you, to find you again. I know that my leaving hurt you, and I'm so sorry for that, but it was not of my design. Now that I am back here, that money means nothing to me, I would much rather see you happy." Shinji said trying to explain.  
  
"He told me that you did not want to see me anymore. That all my friends would leave me, so I never made another friend." Rei whispered.  
  
"Never, Rei. I will never leave you again, and now he can't make me." Shinji replied.  
  
A while later they left the pool, relieved that the air had been cleared. They made it back to their apartment complex just as the sun set displaying a brilliant red and purple colouring.  
  
TBC 


	3. The Reason You Are Here

Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion - Matters of Trust  
  
Chapter: The Reason You Are Here  
  
Author: Knife Hand  
  
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated  
  
Spoilers: All of Neon Genesis Evangelion (just covering my basses)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: Do not own Eva. I would buy it but I am broke.  
  
Summary: AU, basically a series rewrite. Shinji must keep a promise he made years ago. S/R pairing. How NGE should be.  
  
AN: Major deviation from Eva Cannon. Timeline elements ignored. Characters are OOC for the series. If you don't like this then stop reading now. You have been warned.  
  
AN2: In this Rei is not a Clone and she is not related to Shinji in any way.  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thought  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
School had been boring, just like every other day, most of it was spent listening to the Sensei rehashing his experiences during the Second Impact. There were no tests scheduled for Shinji, and Rei was still on inactive status due to her injury so they were on their way to their apartments. When they reached Shinji's apartment, Rei sat down to watch as Shinji began to prepare dinner. After a while, Shinji noticed Rei watching him.  
  
"Do you want to help, Rei?" Shinji asked.  
  
"I don't know how." Rei replied.  
  
"You don't know how to cook? What did you used to do?"  
  
"I ate at the NERV cafeteria. The meals were free." Rei meekly replied.  
  
"Well. I'll have to teach you, some time." Shinji said as he served dinner.  
  
After eating the meal quietly the sat down in the living room of Shinji's apartment listening to some music. They were so comfortable together after their picnic the day before that sat in contented silence, till Rei fell asleep, her head resting in Shinji's lap as he rested his back against the wall. As he drifted off, Shinji thought that he had never been more content in his life. Subconsciously, however, he knew that the peace would not last, that war was coming.  
  
********  
  
Shinji and Rei ran through the now deserted streets of Tokyo 3 towards the nearest NERV entry point, Shinji carrying both of their bags as Rei was still injured from her activation test nearly a month ago. Her injuries were almost healed, her eye had completely healed a week ago but her arm still required time to heal fully, but they both knew that she was not yet ready to fight and therefore it would be Shinji that would go into battle. Secretly Shinji was relieved that he would not have to worry about her. They made it to NERV Central without incident and discovered that the Angel was out of range of the Eva's and that the UN forces would have first crack at it. Nevertheless, Shinji was still ordered to suit up.  
  
After changing into his plug suit Shinji, accompanied by Rei made his way to Unit 01's cage to await entry. As the reports of casualties to the UN forces filtered down to the crew waiting in the Eva cage, Rei's worry for Shinji increased. The UN forces finally detonated an N2 mine against the Angel, which had little effect on it. Rei grew slightly jittery in the minutes that followed. When the Angel started to move Commander Ikari appeared in the observation booth.  
  
"Shinji. It is time to move out." Gendo ordered.  
  
Shinji looked over at Rei with slight worry.  
  
"Pilot the Eva, Shinji. It is the reason you are here." The Commander said.  
  
Glancing at Rei, Shinji nodded then started to move towards the entry plug. On impulse Rei stepped in front of Shinji, grabbed his face in her hands and gave him a passionate kiss.  
  
"Come back to me. Ok?" she whispered.  
  
"Ok." Shinji whispered back, before climbing into the entry plug.  
  
The entire command deck of NERV was speechless. Even the unflappable Gendo Ikari was shocked; however he recovered before anyone else noticed. It was almost a minute before anyone spoke.  
  
"Hey. Are we doing this or not?" Shinji called from in his entry plug, jolting everyone back to work.  
  
No one who knew Rei and did not see the incident, either live or during one of the many reruns in the next few weeks, believed that the quiet and reserved girl would do any such thing. Once the launch process began, Rei quietly made her way to the command centre so she would not have to face the stares of tech crews.  
  
********  
  
Shinji felt the massive pressure of the catapult as it shot him towards the surface to meet his enemy. His opponent was not his enemy because he was told it was, or because it wanted to end the world. It was his enemy because, if it got the chance, it would hurt Rei and that was unacceptable. Anything that threatened Rei would instantly become the enemy of Shinji, simple as that. The restraints were released from Unit 01 and Shinji waited for his enemy to approach. When it did he got his first look at a being called an Angel.  
  
It was the same size as the Eva, about 40 meters high, with dead black skin. There were several protrusions that looked like bone on the outside, most noticeably rib like structures around a glowing red sphere, the Angel's power source, as well as at its shoulders and a round structure with what looked like eye holes that functioned as a face. Unit 01 faced off against the Angel.  
  
"Shinji's EEG (*AN: EEGs refers to brainwaves*) readings are changing." Maya said over the COM link, which Shinji ignored.  
  
Unit 01 charged the stationary Angel. The distance between the combatants closed rapidly then the purple Eva was halted by the skewer from the Angel's right arm entering its abdomen. When the Angel tried it again with its left skewer, Unit 01 dodged, grabbing the weapon and breaking it in half over its purple knee. Using the newly acquired weapon, Unit 01 stabbed the Angel just above the red sphere and then grabbed the Angel's right arm and crushed it, rendering it useless.  
  
At this point the Angel fired its particle weapon, from its eye holes, sending Unit 01 flying down the street and crashing into a building, its armour now scorched to a brown colour. As the Eva impacted, Shinji saw movement out of the corner of his eye and instinctively moved the Eva's hand to protect it from falling debris. When he looked down, Shinji saw a young girl, she looked like she was in second grade, cowering under the cover of Unit 01's hand, staring up at the robot. Unit 01 knelt down and pointed down a street, away from the battle. The girl nodded and ran off in that direction.  
  
"Misato! Civilian on the field, heading West. Transferring coordinates now." Shinji called over the COM link.  
  
"Rodger. Sending recovery team." came the reply.  
  
"Acknowledged." Shinji replied, still acting on autopilot.  
  
Unit 01 ran back to contact the Angel and encountered its AT Field. Expanding an AT Field 180 degrees out of faze to the Angel's allowed Unit 01 to cancel the effects of the field. Jumping onto the Angel, Unit 01 managed to break its other arm under the robots foot. Ripping the embedded skewer out of the Angel, Unit 01 repeatedly pounded it against the red sphere, the power source of the Angel, cracking it on the third blow and puncturing it on the fourth blow. With this final blow the Angel exploded, surrounding the victorious Eva in a pillar of flames.  
  
********  
  
The cheering of the crowd assaulted Shinji's ears as he opened the entry plug. All of the command and technical staff (Except Commander Ikari) were there, congratulating him on his effort. Shinji was almost bowled off his feet the moment that they touched the walkway, caused by Rei giving him a hug from a running start.  
  
"How's the girl?" Shinji shouted when he saw Misato.  
  
"She's fine." Misato replied with a smile. "Recovery team got her to safety."  
  
Shinji just smiled in response, and started towards the male locker room, still holding Rei with one arm. After making his way through the crowd, showering and changing, Shinji had to report to the infirmary. He was released half an hour later, told that he was perfectly healthy and Rei was told that her cast would come off in two days. As they walked back to their apartments, they were both relieved that Shinji had not been injured, or worse killed.  
  
"I was so scared for you, Shinji." Rei said quietly as they entered Shinji's apartment.  
  
"Shush. I'm fine. Really. All I was worried about was not letting it get toy you." Shinji replied.  
  
Rei started shaking and Shinji quickly caught her up in a hug.  
  
"I felt like I almost lost you again." Rei said.  
  
"Hey. I'm not going anywhere." Shinji replied.  
  
A few minutes later Rei stopped shaking, Shinji had been holding her the entire time, whispering reassurances that he was not going anywhere.  
  
"How about I teach you to cook? Cooking always calms me down when I'm upset." Shinji suggested.  
  
Two hours later they were sitting down enjoying a decent meal that Rei had cooked. Sure, the kitchen was a complete mess, they had to use twice the amount of raw materials to make the same outcome, it was not quite as nice as Shinji could have done and they had to change their clothes afterwards due to them being covered in flower, which was odd since there was no call for flower in the recipe for the meal. The most important part was that they had totally enjoyed the process of making the meal, laughing at the mess they were making, and that Rei felt pride at her accomplishment as the meal was the first thing she had made since the age of three, which had been crayon drawn birthday card for Shinji.  
  
They sat for hours on the couch in Shinji's living room, not talking just taking comfort from the close physical presence of the other, communicating their joy at the others presence more effectively with gentle touches and body language than they ever could in words. Eventually Rei fell asleep against Shinji's shoulder. Lifting her gently, Shinji carried Rei into the spare bedroom and tucked her into the bed.  
  
"Goodnight, Rei." He said softly, kissing her gently on the forehead. "You are the real reason I'm here."  
  
Stepping out of the room, he stared at Rei for a second before switching off the light and closing the door. Shinji went to be thinking how good it was to be reunited with his best friend. Unnoticed by her male companion, Rei rolled over on the bed and muttered something about being glad.  
  
********  
  
Shinji and Rei entered the classroom to find Touji incredibly jittery.  
  
"Touji, what's the matter?" Shinji asked.  
  
"Do you know who pilots that big robot?" Touji asked.  
  
"Why?" Shinji responded.  
  
"Because I need to find them."  
  
"Again, why?"  
  
"I need to thank them. My little sister was lost in the city during the battle. She said that the pilot of the robot saved her from being crushed by debris and then pointed her to safety. She was found by a recovery team that had been directed to her by the pilot."  
  
"I'm sure the pilot was only doing their job and would rather not be found." Rei said quietly.  
  
"Yah. I'm sure that the fact that your sister is ok would be enough of a reward for the pilot." Shinji added.  
  
"I guess you are right." Touji said before returning to his desk.  
  
'Knowing she is safe is enough reward for me, and I did not even know it was Touji's sister.' Shinji thought as he took his seat. 'Now all I have to do is keep Rei safe.'  
  
Rei patted his hand and gave him a soft smile. She knew that he felt good about saving Touji's sister. Shinji smiled back, then the Sensei entered and class began.  
  
TBC 


End file.
